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The last thing on people's minds is snow. But that is not the case for city leaders in New Haven who want to do a better job at removing it the next time a snow storm strikes. (Published Wednesday, July 9, 2014)

With temperatures near or above 90 degrees this week the last thing on people's minds is snow . But city leaders in New Haven are vowing not to repeat this past winter’s snow removal mistakes.

"The snow was out well into the middle of the road and there was barely one lane to drive down," said Jeremy Cushman who would rather not think about the memories of snow piling up in front of his Pearl Street home last winter.

"Some snow plows were coming by earlier and had hit some cars on other streets and everybody was really nervous about their car being out," Cushman added, referring to problems that people all over the Elm City faced.

Now the city and the Board of Alderman are trying to make sure everyone is on the same snow removal page.

"We suspect we may see more of these major snow events and so we want to make sure the city is ready to do an even better job of clearing the streets," said Alderman Marchand, who represents Ward 25.

He says the city needs to work with residents to figure where cars will go, for one, and whether that's sharing driveways in some neighborhoods or using empty parking lots.

"What made the last storm really bad is that it snowed a pretty good volume of snow then it rained," Marchand added.

The other issue city officials can't predict is if mother nature will cooperate. Transportation Director Doug Hausladen believes the city can improve and that means "having a game plan that we can actually follow and having a written policy that the city and residents understand."

Officials admit communications between city hall and residents needs to be better.

"it's more like putting all the puzzle pieces together that we're more intune with the population," said Alderman Salvatore DeCola, who represents Ward 18.

For Jeremy Cushman, "The most important thing is actually ticketing and towing cars that are blocking the snow plow."

The city says it ticketed and towed as many cars as it could during the storms but they need to be cleared in their messaging. Department of Public Works is also adding six plows to its fleet. Also being discussed is whether snow routes need to be added to or tweaked.